The Birthday Truce
by Northern-Southern Belle
Summary: AU: It's Henry's birthday and Neal and Emma are hoping for a nice family party, despite the tensions between their parents, and much to their relief, everyone plays nice and makes it a good and memorable day. One-shot
Disclaimer: Only plot and any original characters belong to me!

 **A/N: this is an AU where Regina never raised Henry cause Neal and Emma were always in his life, and stayed the EQ instead.**

"Happy Birthday, Henry!"

"Happy birthday, buddy!"

Henry Swan Cassidy woke up to see his parents smiling eagerly at him as they held onto a plate of chocolate chip pancakes covered in whipped cream and sprinkles that had three lit candles stuck in them.

"Well, thank you," he said with a smile. "That's a much better way to wake up than my alarm. Can I have pancakes in bed every day?" He shut his eyes, made a wish, and blew out the candles, then Neal took them out of the stack and Emma set the plate on his lap.

"You wanna tell us what you wished for?" She asked.

"Doesn't that stop it from coming true?" Henry asked.

"No," Neal shook his head and tousled Henry's hair. "You can make happen whatever you want."

Henry cut his pancakes, took a bite, and then after swallowing, said, "My party's today, right? Everyone can come?"

"Yeah," Neal nodded. "Everyone can come. You wanna help us decorate? We were going to do it while you ate, but if you want to help us, we'll wait until you're done."

"Sure, I'll help," Henry nodded. "And…you've talked to everyone about being nice to each other, right? No fighting because Grandma Snow and Grandpa David are feeling particularly moral and feel the need to judge, or because Grandpa Rumple gets irritated and wants to just kill everyone?"

"No, there won't be any fighting," Emma assured her son. "We met them over lunch yesterday while you were at your friend's' house and they promised they would behave themselves so you would have a good birthday."

"Good," Henry smiled. "Cause that's my wish." He continued to eat his pancakes and then Neal brought in a box wrapped in blue paper. "What's that?" He asked.

"Well, I don't know," Neal smiled. "You'll have to open it and see for yourself."

Henry put his pancakes aside and ripped off the paper and pulled the lid off the cardboard box, smiling and cheering when he saw what he'd gotten: a blue and gray jacket that he'd seen in a store window and asked his parents for. "You got it!" He cried. "Thank you!"

"No problem," Neal replied and hugged him. "When you tell us something that you want for your birthday, it would be a shame if we didn't get it for you, wouldn't it?"

"I think so," Henry smiled. He finished his pancakes and then followed his parents to the kitchen where he put his pancake plate in the sink and then sat on the sofa and put on cartoons while his parents went to get the birthday decorations from the basement.

They then decorated the house until everything was all birthday signs, balloons, and various craft projects that Henry had made in childhood. "What do you think?" Emma asked him. "How does the place look?"

"Great," Henry replied. "I'm gonna go take a shower and dress. Then can I open another present?"

"You don't have to ask," Neal told him with a smile. "You can open your presents whenever you want."

While Henry was in the shower, Neal and Emma brought all of Henry's other presents into the living room and put them in a pile by the fireplace and put a birthday card on the couch where he'd been sitting, then Emma said, "What do you think we should do now? Do we need to make him a cake? Or do I need to go out and get him one?"

"No," Emma shook her head. "My mom said she and Dad would come with that."

"Emma!" Snow's voice called out. "We're here with the cake!"

"See?" Emma smiled. "I told you." She took Neal's hand and they both headed to the front door and opened it to allow Snow and David entrance.

"Sorry we're so early," David apologized. "But your mother worked so hard on the cake that she just couldn't wait until the time of the party for Henry to see it."

Emma's jaw dropped a little as a three layer cake with white and blue frosting came through the door. "My god!" She cried as David helped Snow set tit down on the table. "It's so big!"

"I know!" Snow said with a sheepish smile. "Is that bad? I went overboard, didn't I?"

"Oh, no," Emma replied as she shook her head, still stunned by the size of the cake. "I'm sure Henry will love it!"

"In fact, I'll go get him," Neal smiled and ran up to Henry's room, knocking and coming in just as he was pulling on his birthday jacket.

"What's up?" He asked. "Did I hear Grandma and Grandpa downstairs?"

"Yes, you did," Neal nodded. "And I can't wait to see the look on your face when you get a load of the cake your grandmother made for you. It's _huge_!"

"Is it?" Henry smiled and then ran to the kitchen.

"Oh, my god!" He said, stopping in his tracks and turning to his father. "You're right! It _is_ huge!" He gave both David and Snow hugs. "Thank you! I'm so glad you could come!"

"It's our pleasure," Snow smiled. "I'm so glad you like it!"

"Happy birthday, Henry," David told him and then went out to the car to get their other present for him while Neal and Henry went back to staring at the cake.

"If I eat that whole thing on my own will you give me five dollars?" Henry asked Neal.

"No." Emma said firmly before Neal could answer. "Don't even think about it. You're going to make yourself sick."

"I was going to say 'No'," Neal told her. "I wouldn't have encouraged him."

"You've let him have a drink before," Emma reminded him. "So I just wanted to make my position clear."

"I learned my lesson from that," Neal told her. "Believe me. I won't be doing it again."

After that, Henry opened Snow and David's present and they talked for another hour or so and then went outside to play ball in the sun.

They were deep in the middle of a game (Emma and Henry against Snow and David with Neal playing referee) and Neal was having the time of his life watching everyone laugh and have fun when he saw his father's car pull up.

Although he and his father were on better terms than they'd been in a long time, with Snow and David around, Neal could help the little bit of apprehension that flared up in him as his father approached with his wife Belle on his arm, dressed in his usual suit. He was smiling though. That was a good sign.

"Are we late?" Belle asked, handing Neal a heavy package. "I see that Snow and David have already arrived."

"No, you're right on time," Neal assured her as he gave her a hug after putting the package on the ground for a moment. "Emma's parents came early cause her mother made the cake and couldn't wait for Henry to see it."

"Ah," Belle nodded. "All right."

"Now that you're here, I suppose we could all head inside," Neal offered. "Unless you want to watch the end of our little game."

"Oh, don't just stop things on our account," Rumple told him. "We'll go inside and you come in when you're done. But first, I'd like to say 'Happy birthday' to my grandson."

"Sure," Neal nodded. "I don't think he'd mind that at all."

Henry had seen the car pull up and paused the game to run over to Rumple and Belle and give them hugs. "Thanks for coming!" He smiled. "I wonder what sort of present I'll get this year. Hopefully one that Mom and Dad will let me keep."

"Don't worry about that," Rumple told him. "I let Belle pick it out. You shouldn't have to worry about it going anywhere."

"Good," Henry smiled. "I'm glad."

Rumple gave Snow and David perfunctory greetings before going inside, but Belle's greeting was much warmer. Though they were much more civil then they used to be, there was still some tension that lingered from the days where the four of them had had to work together frequently to save Storybrooke and frequently clashed because of their very different ideas about how to do it. It was something that Emma, Henry, and Neal were all well aware of, which is why they were being so careful about putting them in the same room for Henry's birthday.

Before they headed inside, Neal and Emma took Henry's hand and Neal promised, "It's all gonna work out, Henry. We promise your party won't be ruined by arguing."

"Oh, I know," Henry assured his father. "I'm not worried about that anymore. I just want to know what that big heavy box is that your father brought. What if it's something dark and evil?" He paused. "No, he said that Belle picked it out. It's probably not that. But I'm still curious."

He zipped inside and Neal and Emma followed, hands joined, at a much more measured pace. When they got inside, they found everyone sitting around the cake.

"And how long did it take you to make this?" Belle was asking Snow.

"I was up early making it," Snow smiled. "It took a long time, but it was worth it."

Belle gave Rumple a nudge. "Don't you think Snow made a nice cake for Henry's birthday, Rumple?"

"Yes," Rumple didn't miss a beat. "It's very lovely."

"Thank you!" Snow smiled.

"Even though everyone's fascinated with the cake, can I open my big and heavy present? I want to know what it is. I'm really curious."

"Oh, it's nothing that fancy," Belle replied. "Just something that I got out of the back of the shop cause I thought you might like it."

Neal helped Henry get the box open and lift the heavy object out. It turned out to be an old type-writer that was clean and shiny despite the fact that it probably hadn't been used in several years. "Wow," Henry replied. "This is something I could use."

"Could you really?" Belle smiled. "Wonderful."

"I could help you set it up after we're all through here, Henry," Neal offered. "There's a spot on the desk in your room that it would be perfect for."

"Thanks," Henry told his father. "Cause I don't think I'd be able to lift this thing by myself."

They put the typewriter aside for a moment and then Henry smiled. "Thanks for the present," he said again. "I really think it'll be put to good use. Now, who wants cake?"

"I do," Emma sighed. "But it's so pretty that I almost hate to cut it up."

"Oh, but you should," Snow insisted. "That's what it's there for!"

"Who has a camera?" Rumple asked. "We could take a picture of it and then we'll always remember how lovely it was before we cut it up."

"Excellent idea," Emma agreed and went to go get a camera. She snapped a picture and then, after they sang "Happy birthday" and Henry had blown out candles on one of the lower layers of the cake, David went to get a knife to cut it with while Rumple and Belle went and grabbed the ice cream they'd brought and stuck in the freezer.

They then passed out pieces of cake and bowls of ice cream with whipped cream, chocolate syrup and sprinkles, and as they ate, the room was full of light chatter about how quickly time had passed and how Henry had grown, along with talk of what Henry would use the typewriter for.

After he was done with his cake, Henry handed his father his empty plate. "Can I have some more, please?" He asked.

"Of course," Neal nodded. "It's your birthday." He cut Henry another piece of cake and while they were next to one another, Emma pulled out the camera again. "All right, you two," she requested. "Look at me! Father-son birthday photograph time!"

Neal and Henry turned to face her and posed, making faces as if they were about to eat the cake on the plate without any silverware, just opening their mouths and diving in.

"That's great," Emma chuckled as she looked at it. "I love it!"

The pictures with the grandparents (at least the first round, anyway) weren't goofy. And after they were done, Neal offered to take a picture of Henry and Emma. As they got in position and he got the focus of the camera right, he couldn't help but savor the scene around him. He was surrounded by people he loved, no one was causing him any trouble, and he just…he finally felt like he was at peace. And he liked it. He snapped the picture, and then went to sit between Henry and Emma, and as everyone else gathered around, he snapped one more photo, and smiled. "What a great-looking group, don't you think?" He asked.

"Yep," Henry agreed. "I'm lucky to have such a great family."

"Me too," Neal replied as he looked around the room. "Me too."

 **The End**


End file.
